March 29, 2024

Social injustice index ‘highly explosive’ in Europe – report

A man walks past a beggar in Madrid, June 19, 2014. (Reuters/Jon Nazca)

A man walks past a beggar in Madrid, June 19, 2014. (Reuters/Jon Nazca)

The level of social injustice has increased in most EU countries in recent years, and the severe austerity policies haven’t done much to stabilize the situation, according to a new report by the German Bertelsmann Stiftung Foundation.

The study, published on Monday, found there is an
“enormous discrepancy” in social justice across the 28
EU members.

The best performing overall were Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and
the Netherlands and falling below average were Malta, Lithuania,
Poland, Slovakia, Ireland, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, Croatia,
Latvia, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece.

The report lauds the effort of post-communist states Poland, the
Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Estonia for ranking above average
on the overall index, which is based on 35 separate criteria
related to health, employment, education, poverty, and social
factors such as discrimination.

Image from bertelsmann-stiftung.de

Results “suggest that the rigid austerity policies pursued
during the crisis and the structural reforms aimed at economic
and budgetary stabilization have had, in most countries, negative
effects with regard to social justice,”
the report said.

One example of negative social justice is unemployment, which
varies widely across the continent. The average unemployment rate
in the eurozone is 12 percent, yet Greece suffers from an
unemployment rate of 27.8 percent whereas Austria only has a 5.0
percent rate.

“This is a highly explosive situation with regard to societal
cohesion and social stability within the European Union,”

the report says.

In post-crisis Europe, northern countries have prospered while
growth has stalled in the Mediterranean – namely Greece,
Portugal, Spain, and Italy.

“The gap between participation opportunities in the
still-wealthy countries of northern Europe and in the
crisis-struck southern nations has thus significantly
increased,”
the report reads.

Youth unemployment also highlights the stark contrast in
recovery. Joblessness among people aged 15-24 has climbed to
record highs, especially in Southern Europe – in Greece almost 60
percent of young people are unemployed. Even more developed
economies like Sweden and Finland haven’t found the right formula
in fighting youth unemployment. In Sweden 23.5 percent of
youngsters are unemployed and 19.9 percent in Finland.

Across the EU, 28 per cent of children and young people are
threatened by poverty or social exclusion, the report said.

Overall, labor opportunities have deteriorated in EU member
states as a result of the financial crisis. As a political bloc,
they are likely to miss their declared 2020 targets to reach 75
percent employment rates.

A solution “requires EU-wide awareness of the problems of
currently unsustainable and growing inequalities within the
EU,”
Bertelsmann Stiftung concludes.


Article source: http://rt.com/business/188092-social-injustice-index-bertelsmann-stiftung/

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